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CASSVIELE, GEO.
THURSDAY MORNING,
- NOV’R II. 1858.
FOB SOLICITOR-GENERAL,
J. A. W. JOHNSON,
OF MURRAY COUNTY.
Take Notice.
Advertisers must be prepared to settle
their accounts when the time for which
their advertisements are to be published
has expired; and all persons having any
kind of Job Printing done at this office
must be prepared to pay for it on its de
livery. We must either get pay for our
work or “ suspend operations.”
The Governor’s Message.
We are unable to give more than about
half of this document this week, owing
to its great length. We consider it un
necessary to call attention to this able
State paper—it is a matter which will in-
' terest all classes of readers, and will be,
doubtless read by men of all parties. Wc
are proud to sec the first Governor elect
ed from Cherokee Georgia—the strong
hold of Democracy, sustaining himself so
handsomely. Those who have regarded
the people of this portion of the Shite as
a set of hoosiers and blockheads,—fit only
to help elect Governors, will soon be con
vinced, if they have not already been,
that Cherokee’Georgia can furnish Gov
ernors as well as elect them. For one wc
are not ashamed of “ Joe Brownwe
want honest men in office—men who
knowing their duty, are not afraid to do
it, regardless of consequences—men who
are determined to do what they honestly
believe to be their duty, though the
world, the flesh and the devil are arrayed
. Against them ; such a man we consider
-Gov. Brown; and when they endeavor to
do their duty, as we believe he has been,
and is, trying to do, the honest masses*—
the sovereigns of the land, will sustain
them. Three cheers for Hon. Joseph £.
Brown, the first Governor from Cherokee
Georgia!
Cherokee Baptist College.
The friends of this Institution will be
rejoiced to learn that its prospects for fu
ture usefulness are better than they have
ever been at any former period.
All the lots belonging to the College,
intended for building lots, have been sold,
at good prices, and several of the pur
chasers will commence in a short time to
erect buildings, plant trees, build fences,
aad to otherwise improve their property.
It was not to be expected that, taking
into consideration the recent prostration
of all kinds of business, and the present
stringency of the money market, that the
College lots would find such a ready sale,
■—hence we say the denomination which
has it under its care, and the friends of
education, generally, in this* section, have
reason to rejoice at the present condition
of the Cherokee Baptist College.
A few of the friends of the College, Mrs.
Grundy-like, have been apprehensive that
it would not succeed, but now they need
have no fears on that score; let them do
their duty as Baptists, and as friends of
education, and future generations will
rise up and call them blessed. The Che
rokee Baptist College fail! why the idea
is simply ridiculous, perfectly preposte
rous, and absolutely impossible.
In addition to this, we arc informed
that its able and energetic President, Rev.
Thomas Rambaut, has succeeded in rais
ing an endowment fund of about thirty
thousand dollars. This speaks well for
; the liberality of the friends of 'education
ifi Cherokee Georgia.
■iaisttr to Chin*.
Hon. John E. Ward, of Savannah, Ga.,
has been appointed by President Buchan
an, Monster to China. He. will leave fer
his in January next, and will have
Pekin for his headquarters. This gentfe-
man, as is generally known, now holds
the position of President of the Georgia
Senate.
Legislative;
Owing to the great length of the Gov
ernor’s Message (and. we only give about
half of it) we t
till give as much
Legislative proceedings as we wished.—
We w3 however mention a few of the
most important Mgs (haft have been intro
duced:
GOVSEEOE’S MESSAGE.
EXEccn^p department, )
MoLSgoEviun, Ga., . >
% Noe. 3, 18*. J
j Fellow Citizens the Senate,:
and House of Repreeentathees:
It a fiords me q^ch pleasure, to he ate
, to state that the financial condition of the
By Mr. StubW-a WH, accompanied by j muntrT ls ^tlr improved since the ad-
CassviUe F^ale College. j a P™P^ ition to lease the State Road at : joumn ^ nt session. Previous
The Fall Term of this Institution will! ^ ^ i to that time, the commercial crisis, aggra-
month. IT* i ^ H* * gn-ri "-I*-*- of
m.rnsmprtsod.hat. ***<*2*1
suffering the present penalty for notmak- things, be so convertible, so long as the
■ing returns in accordance with existing banks issue three dollars in paper for
-.«i * m. ~ A _
For the pinpose of compelling these ; In my judgment no paper currentjr
corporations to yield obedience to the fair safe which is not so regulatodf as to
in gstore, I respectfully recommend that j aB times readily convertible into gold
the penalty for disobedience be increased, I Stiver. It is true, our people, by s aortf and that foq without any obligation on
- ■ ■■ ** * |of common consent, receive the billkef ftheir part to keep in their vaults the
, of confidence, had depressed the spirits
This bill provides j our people and seriously affected all the
have them better educated, and at less „ . , _ _
, , tain and Jas. Dean.
expense, nearer borne. It would appear ,, , T> , .. _ . ,— r . > -
to V disinterested person that a nroner I tha * D ° Bank ’ D ° cor P orat,on ’ and no " e I great interests of our State,
to a ^interested person that a proper ; t shall gubscribe for the "
regard for their interests, if not for their Jeaseand incorporate the W. A A. R. R.
daughters welfare, would influence them c G en. Cone mOTed that 200
to educate their children nearer home.- j copies ofthLs £ m ^ print ed for the use
Board and tuition are cheaper here than : of the which was agrecd to .
at any other place in the State; and as to i By Mr MoorC) of Clarke-A bill to re-
the educational advantages possessed by j the disposal of frec persons of color
this College, no similar Institution can j Jn thfe gtate This bill proposes, that all
boast of an abler or more competent corps j free persons of ^ who are in the gtate
0 Ch t on one notion , ! on the lst January, 1860, shall be sold; C(L „ xi lis act it the duty of the
It was thought on one occasion that ; nto s i ave ry, or choose for themselves a
there would be some difficulty in getting master In the event of their ^ one
board-no such fears need be entertained thjrd of the money
Treasury, and the
Treasury. This bill is to be published in
the public gazettes, and the free States
will be requested to open their doors for
the reception of such as may wish to em
igrate to them.
Mr. Lewis of Hancock, read the bill
and in addition to the penalty already
prescribed, that a tax of two per cent a
month upon the whole amount of the cap
ital stock mentioned in the charter of each
delinquent bank, be levied and collected
in gold and siver, for the entire-time dur
ing which any such bank may in future
remain in a state of disobedience, and fail
to make its returns as directed by the
statutes. There can be no just reasons
why wealthy corporations should be per
Raid in. The stockholders pqy
000 in gold and silver. The
the bank may then, without
‘ the letter of the charter
against the bank to any
not exceed $1,600,000;
: mitted at their pleasure to set the law at
bavks and banking. defiance, while individuals are compelled
On the 22d day of Dmember last, boto to saffer rigorous penalties for its viola
tion. . The mandates of the law should be
obeyed as promptly and implicitly by the
most influential and wealthy as by the
branches of the General Assembly passed,
by a constitutional majprity, without Ex
ecutive sanction, an act entitled “ an act
to provide against the forfeiture of the
several bank charters in this State, on ac
count of non-specie payment for a given
time, and for other purposes therein nam-
the banks and use them as money, though j $600,000 actually paid in, or a like sum.
in reality they rest upon no solid specie 1 If they should take out $400,000 of their
basis. But sad experience has taught us specie and invest it in real estate or other
that such a circulating medium subjects. j property, leaving but $100,000 of specie
the country to panic at the first breath of • h» the vaults, they may still contract debts
distrust or suspicion, which may be pro- i to the amount of a million and a half; and
duced by the failure of a single bank hav- may point in triumph to the language of
ing a large circulation and extensive con-1 their charter, and to the feet that the
nections with other banks, and may wi- j $500,000 of capital stock was once actual-
den and extend to the prostration of the j*ly paid in, as their authority for so doing,
credit of the whole country. Such a cur- This bank legislation of our State does
rency, having no solid specie basis, can j not seem to have been well understood by
be available only so long as the communi- our people. They have generally believed
ty will consent to receive promisee to pay
money in place of money itself.
The people take from the banks their
now.
Those in the habit of sending their
daughters from home to be educated,
should consider the claims of the Cassville
Female College—it is an Institution wor
thy of an extensive patronage.
content with nothing less.
No sooner had the act of 22d December,
1857, been passed, than the banks, forget-
evem oi ulelr w oue GOTemor to with ^ld proceedings under ful of their lnises to expand tbei r cir-
evem oi mcir saie, uue ac j c f 1840, for the forfeiture of the i ... , ... . , . ,
;v goes into the county . , f , , , . ... , j culation, to discount freely and relieve the
* balance into the State cl,arters o{ such bttrdcs ,n tlus S te j country, refused to discount notes, how-
• “*” “ *•»'»». *” d i» * *<*l* ! ever ^ „ h ,„ to them in «le-
of suspension, until the 15th day of this j gjtkliate course of banking businesSi orto
present month, or till the happening of j extend accommodations to any t
certain contingencies mentioned in the '
Western & Atlantic Rail Road.
Twenty-five thousand dollars have been I fr amed by the Committee appointed to de-
paid into the State Treasury as nett prof- j v * se a common school system, the sub-
its of this Road for the month of October, i s ^ ance which was, that a sum of monej
which added to the amounts previous^ j be set apart for the support of Free Schools,
paid in, makes the very respectable sum ' and tha * a P art of the proceeds of the W.
of two hundred thousand dollars which ; & Railroad be set aside for that purpose,
has been paid into the Treasury, from the i and neTcr t° he touched for anj other,
earnings of this Road, since Gov. Brown ! Also, that a young man from each county
and Dr. Lewis have had the management i bo educated by the State who is unable to
of it A still greater sum would have 1 pay the usual expenses of a thorough ed-
been paid in, if a good portion of the ear- j ucation; and that he will give bond and
nings of the Road had not been appropri-: security that he will teach in Georgia for
ated towards paying off a number of: a certain number of years,
old debts that have been accumulating j By Mr. Autry, of Cobb A hill to alter
against the Road for some time past—so the time of holding the election of county
Sensible.
Our neighbor of the Cartersville Ex
press has changed the terms of that pa
per from $1.50 per annum, former price,
to $2.00 a year, in advance, $2.50 if pay
ment is delayed 6 months, and $3.00, if
not paid until the end of the year. That’s
.right, neighbor. A well conducted news
paper is the cheapest thing that can be
bought for two dollars. A country news
paper can’t pay its way at $1.00 or $1.50
•.year—we have seen it too often tried.
The Express has' also been considerably
enlarged, and presents quite a neat ap
pearance ; glad to see such an evidence of
prosperity.
It would be perhaps considered out of
place for us to say anything about The
Standard, in this connection—but we will
say that the people of Cass county need
not be ashamed of their newspapers.
Acknowledgements.
Ron. Mark A. Cooper will please ac-
eapt our thanks for a sack of nice Flour,
mot UK S few days ago. We profess to
tenjofeoef suck tilings, and pronounce
toe saaipjd sent us a good article.
Thanks—many thanks
Mr. Jos. L. Neeir one of the Represen
tatives in the Legislature from this coun
ty, will also please accept our thanks for
a eapy of the Governor’s Message, in ad
vance of the newspapers; also for a copy
of the Report of the Committee appointed
by the last Legiaktnre to inveatigato the
stoic* of the State road, and fog.copies of
the Daily Federal Union. 1 3 /;”;/:*
- ST See Mr. Henricks’ advertisement.
we have been informed. It should be
borne in mind - that all the expenses of the
Road have been paid during this time,—
that the Road has paid its way and made
that sum clear—that these sums have not
been paid into the Treasury for effect,
and then perhaps immediately drawn out
again, to pa_v the expenses of the Road,
or perhaps for some other cause—hut that
this sum is now in the State Treasury at
Milledgeville—to be disposed of as our
Legislators in their wisdom may deter
mine.
It is believed by many that if there was
the same amount of travel and freights
over the Road now that there has been in
times past, with its present management
the income of the Road would be suffi
cient to pay the peoples’ taxes—if the
Legislature should determine to appropri
ate it to that purpose.
If we are not very much mistaken, the
bank officials and their hired organs have
officers in the several counties of this
State, from the lst Monday in January of
each year, to the 1st Monday in October,
electing them for two years. Under this
bill Tax Collectors will hold their office
for two years, and their bond in the re
spective counties will be double what it is
now.
By Mr. Pickett, of Gilmer—A hill to
establish a general system of Education
for the State. This bill provides for the
setting apart of $200,000 of the nett earn
ings of the State Road for said purpose ;
and in the event of its sale, setting apart
two-thirds of its value for school purposes,
&c., making each county a school district,
&c.
By Mr. Kendall, of Meriwether—A res
olution authorizing the State Treasurer to
deduct one day’s pay, from each member’s
pay per diem, in his settlement with
them, and turn the aggregate over to the
Mt Vernon Association, as a voluntary
poorest and most needy. This is republi- j bills as money. The banks receive inter
can equality, and our people should be ! and often exchange, upon them.
When required to redeem their bills in
specie, they snspend; if they choose to do
so; and then, if an attempt is made to co
erce payment in specie, they resist it,
holding a rod over the people by threat
ening to make them pay’ upon a specie
basis debts contracted by them for the
bills of the banks ; notwithstanding those
that our banks, by the letter of their char
ters, were required to have on hand, at all
times, an amount of specie one-third as
large as the entire amount of their liabili
ties. The banks have understood the mat
ter very differently, and have not only
claimed, but exercised the right when they
regarded it their interest, to extend their
liabilities far beyond three dollars for eve
ry one of specie actually on hand to meet
those liabilities. By examination of their *
returns made to this Department in Octo
ber, 1857, it will he seen that at the time
act.
In view, doubtless, of the great imposi
tion practiced upon the people by the
banks, in taking from them usury under
the name of exchange, and otherwise, the
usury laws of this State, so far as applica
ble to banks, were changed by the eighth
and ninth sections of said act; by which
it is made illegal for any hank or bank
agency, by itself as officers or agents, di-
perhaps to a favored few, such as cotton
buyers and other speculators. Merchants
and others compelled to have Northern
exchange, were generally unable to ob
tain it for less than three per cent The
price of cotton declined, and monetary
distress became general throughout the
State.
The banks having thus abused the gen
erous confidence reposed in them by the
. .. „ , , , Legislature, continued to enjoy the bene-
rcctlv or indirectly, to loan money ata . ° ,,, . , "i ,, , ,
, ! fits of the suspension long after the banks
greater rate of interest than seven per i ,,, . ... - j -nr .
, , . . *1 of the great cities of the North and West
cent per annum, and at that rate only for !, , , . . , ...
, r , ... J , had resumed specie payment, and untd
a longer or shorter time; or to discount or
purchase notes, papers, or evidences of
debt at a greater discount than seven per
cent per annum.' And all notes, hills,
drafts and contracts of every sort whatev
er, taken for money loaned at a greater
rate of interest than seven per cent, as
the just indignation of an injured people,
expressed through the public press, by
public meetings and otherwise, became so
prevalent that they felt compelled by fear
of future consequences, to retrace their
steps and curtail the speculation they oth-
„ „ , ., ,. erwise would have made out of the sus-
well as all notes, papers and evidences of. . „„ , .
j- i. i * pension. They therefore prepared to re
debt discounted or purchased m violation * ,, „ , , , , r , . ..
1 sume on the lst day of May last; thus
admitting, by their resumption six months
in advance of the time fixed by the stat-
been wofully deceived in their calcula- contribution to the same, from this Legis
lature.
By Mr. Pickett—To add another section
to the Constitution of Georgia, declaring
that two-thirds of the earnings of the
State Road shall be applied to educational
purposes, and that two-thirds of the Road
may be sold, and the interest devoted to
the same subject, &c.
By Mr. Quillian, of Gilmer—A bill to
encourage the building of the Ellijay Rail
Road. After 20 miles of the Road is paid
for, the State to endorse its bonds. The
tions of the qualifications of Gov. Brown
as a financier. Last winter, they seemed
to take great pleasure in applying to our
worthy Governor the very polite epithets
of “ mountain sprout,” “ Cherokee moun
tain boy,” “blockhead,” &c. If the Gov
ernor doesn’t understand how bank state
ments balance so nicely, he has shown in
his management of the State Road that
he knows liow to take care of the inter
ests of the people of the State, and has
stopped the tall stealing that has been go
ing on in the management of that great
State work—how long and to what ex
tent the uninitiated it is supposed will
never know.
Gov. Brown and Dr. Lewis have solved
the problem whether or not the State
Road can he made to pay, and if future
administrations cannot continue to make
it pay, it is hoped the people will force
of said act, are declared to be utterly null
and void, and irrecoverable in law.
The tenth section of the act regulates
the per cent which a bank may receive for
exchange, when its own bills are tendered
at its counter in payment therefor, by a
citizen of this State.
The sections containing these provis
ions were doubtless inserted in the act for
the purpose of protecting the people
against the usurious and exorbitant exac
tions of the banks. And to prevent, as
far as possible, violations of the act, in
ute, that no such necessity as they repre
sented to the Legislature ever did exist
for the passage of the act A gentleman
of great ability and worth, who is at the
head of one of the most important and in
fluential banks in the State, in his report
i of May last, while apologizing for the sus-
! pension, and referring to the fact that the
Legislature had given time till the 15th of
November, says: “Our banks, impatient
... . i under the supposed odium of suspension,
the particulars above referred to, it is en- ‘ , , , ...
. .. u _ resolved to resume on the lst of the pres-
fluiAn hir rho olnranrh ciw*rmn rnnf 44 I hn ; 1
ent month,” (May.) It is a fair inference.
bills, whan they received them, rested on j of the late suspension of our banks in Au-
a basis of only one third specie. The high gtista and Savannah, the liabilities of one
prerogative of exercising banking privile
ges, and of issuing their own notes or
bills to he circulated as money, not rest
ing upon any solid specie basis, is secured
to the hanks under our present system of
legislation as an exclusive right, while the
exercise of similar privileges upon like
terms is denied to all individual citizens
of the State by stringent penal enact
ments.
The privilege of using their own notes
as money, gives to the favored few who
enjoy it, immense advantages over their
fellow citizens, and may often enable the
managers of these corporations to amass
great wealth by their high salaries and
large profits. It may however be said,
that many of the stockholders are widows
and orphans; that the stock is in the mar
ket for all; and that the dividends arc not
greater than the profits realized from oth
er investments. This may be admitted.
Indeed, it seems in practice to be gener
ally true, that corporate privileges do not
result so much to the benefit of all the
mass of stockholders as to the benefit of
the few who manage the corporation. To
estimate correctly the profits made out of
the people by those engaged in banking,
we mnst not only count the dividends of
seven, eight or ten per cent distributed
among the stockholders, hut we must also
take into the account the banking houses,
real estate and other property purchased
out of the profits of the hank and held by
the corporation. Besides, we should con
sider a reserved fund of two, three or
acted by thef eleventh section, that “ The
affidavit of bank officers to their annual ! therefor ^ that th ' e banks wou j d bave C on- ! four hundred thousand dollars, made up
and semi-annual reports, shall, in all ca- t - nued the suspension till tbe time fixcd j of accumulated profits, and often kept
ses, state that the bank of which they are
by the act for them to resume, but for the
State endorses and is secured by mort
gages on the Road, equipments, &c.
By Mr. Price—A resolution requesting
our Senators and Representatives in Con~
gress to procure the establishment of a
two-liorse mail line from Ellijay by way
of Jasper, in Pickens county, and then to
Ball Ground, &c., which was adopted.
By Mr. Hillyer—A bill to impose addi-
officers, has not, by itself its officers or , „ . .
, i pressure of public opinion, and their im-
agents, m any particular, violated the j r . „ , , , ,
• • . ... patience “under the supposed odium of
provisions of this act And the twelfth • 1 „ _ ,......
.. , ,, ~ . , ,, suspension. Public opinion having thus
section makes the offence penury, should „ ,
, , _ ,, , . ,. compelled the banks to resume before the
bank officers swear falsely in making . . . , ,,
... . „ | time fixed by the statute, and the ensis
their reports. By requinng of bank oft- *, , ’ , , ,,
. .. ! having passed, we, as rational men, should
cers the solemn guaranty of an oath, un-1 . , , , . ,
, . ......... : learn wisdom by cxpenence, and try to
der heavy penal sanctions, that the law ; J ... ...
, . ’ r . , . ,, ’ T • provide a.< far as possible against abuses
has not been violated by them, the Legis- * , . . ...
lature no doubt believed they had protect- j £ b >' theSC cor P orat,ons
ed the people against such illegal practices ;
in future I presume it will not he denied by any
Although I withheld my sanction from | one ’ t ^ Ml ^ we ^ iave erred ^3 a *°°
, the act on account of other objectionable j and unguarded grant of corporate powers
features in it, and on account of the doubts I and^privileges to^ monej cd monopolies.
I entertained as to the constitutionality
of portions of it, I have no doubt but that
such portionW'of the act as prohibit the
taking of usury by the banks, and regu
late the manner of making their annual
and semi-annual reports, which apply
alike to all banks in the State, are both
them to retire from the helm of govern- i tional P enalties on the Banks of this State ’
ment after the expiration of one term of
service.
The Late Elections.
Morgan, Black Republican candidate
for Governor of New York, is elected by
about 20,000 majority. The Congression
al delegation will stand 26 Black Repub
licans to 7 Democrats; in the last Congress
the delegation stood, 12 Democrats to 21
opposition.
In New Jersey, 3 Republican Congress
men and 2 Democrats are elected ; in the
last Congress the delegation stood, 3 De
mocrats to 2 opposition.
In Massachusetts, the Republicans have
swept the State. Banks’ majority, for I providing for monthly returns, Ac.
so far as to compel them to comply with
the provisions of an act to provide against
the forfeiture of Charters, Ac.
By Mr. Schley, of Burke—A bill to al
low parties to contract for money at any
rate agrecd upon. The provisions of this
bill do not extend to Banks and Bank
agencies.
By Mr. Price, of Pickens—A Bill to al
ter the law in relation to divorces—and
repealing that portion of the law requiring
two concurrent verdicts in order to grant
a divorce.
By Mr. Stubbs, of Bibb—A bill to im
prove the government of the IV. A A. B.
R, and to prevent fraud upon the State ;
Governor, over all, will be about 17,000.
In Delaware, the Democratic ticket has
been elected.
In Michigan, 1 Democratic Congress
man is elected, (this is a gain) 1 district
in doubt; the Republicans carried the
others. The Republican majority in the
State will be between C and 10,000.
'In Wisconsin. Chas. Dunn, Democrat,
in 2d Congressional District, was about
1,000 votes ahead of his Republican com
petitor, at last accounts. None of the oth
er Districts heard from.
In Illinois, the election was confined al
most exclusively to the Douglas Demo
crats and the Republicans. Four Repub
lican Congressmen are elected, as fer as
heard from. There are very few Admin
istration majorities reported. Private dis
patches state that Douglas gains in some
pUkas of Illinois.
Battlx with thk Indians in Washing
ton TcmarrosT.—TheDepartroentat Wash
ington have received intelligence of a bat
tle between toe U. & troops under CoL
Wright and toe hostile Indians in toe
Spokane country. Hie Indians wet* de
feated losing many warriors and one chief
Since toe battle they have sued for peace.
By the same—A bill to encourage the
poor youth of this State, and to provide
competent school teachers, providing for
the education of such youth from each
county, as are chosen by a committee ap
pointed for that purpose.
By the same: A bill to increase the sal
ary of the Superintendent of the State
Road from $3,000 to $5,000.
By Mr. Shropshire—A bill to lay out a
new county from portions of Chattooga,
Gordon and Walker, and to organize the
same.
By Mr. Atkinson, of Camden—A bill
to abolish the law preventing the intro
duction of slaves in this State.
By Mr. Lewis, of Greenie—A hill to
provide for the erection of a new Peniten-
t»ry.
By Mr. Hill, of Harris—A bill to amend
the Penal Code, so ter as to prevent the
manumission of slaves.
By Mr. Shepherd—A hill to alter the
Judiciary system of the State, in several
sections.
By Mr. Luffinan, of Murray—A bill to
abolish imprisonment for debt in this
State. ^
Sec J. U Cutting A Ca’s advertisement.
back by our larger banks and not distrib
uted among the stockholders, together
with the high salaries of all the officers of
the bank, which must be paid before any
dividends are distributed. These sums,
though made out of the people by the
banks, are not semi-annually divided
among the stockholders. To these add all
sums paid to attorneys, agents, Ac., and
all amounts lost by defaulting agents,
which, while they cannot be set down as
profits of the corporation, since neither its
officers proper nor its stockholders are
benefitlcd thereby, arc still sums of mon
ey which, under the workings of the sys-
And it is believed7ha7a future'e7te'ns'ion j tem > arc dr:lwn b - v thc corporation from
of this policy would soon enable these the pockets of thc people,
monopolies to control the government of
Georgia, and make the people thc subjects
of their power. It is already claimed by
some, that they now have the power, by
combinations and the free use of large
"ZZZ7Z sums of money, to control the political the account the further fact that the State,
constitutional and expedient Entertain-1 J’ electiong of J gtat( , L 1848 and 1849, issued $515,000 of her
To all this add the large sums lost al
most every year, on account of broken
banks, whose bills are left worthless in the
hands of the people, who have paid full
price for them as money. And take into
ing these views, on the lst day of June
last I issued my proclamation, calling on *
thc banks to make their returns according
to law, and to comply with said eleventh
section of the act of 22d December, 1857.
As this act had been passed by the Legis
lature mainly for the relief of the suspend-
! and in this way to crush those who may
have the independence to stand by the
rights of the people in opposition to their
aggressive power. I trust that the bold,
independent and patriotic people of Geor
gia may never be compelled to bow the
7d bank7anYat the earnest solicitations neck in subjection to thc yoke thus in
of their friends, I had reason, in common
with all law abiding citizens of the State,
to suppose that they would render cheer
ful obedience to all its requirements. It
is with much regret, however, that I have
tended to he imposed by the corporate
powers of the State. Let it not he forgot
ten, however, by those who have watched
with anxiety the growing power of corpo
rate influence, that the price of republican
to state to the Legislature, that by fer the : Hurty is perpetual vigilance.
greater number of the banks whose sus
pension had been thus legalized, and
whose charters had been so recently re
lieved from liability to forfeiture, in open
violation of the statute passed for their
relief as well os all the banks in the
The monetary and commercial affairs oi
the country must necessarily remain sub
ject to panics, under heavy pressures, at
certain, if not frequent intervals, as long
as our present banking system is contin
ued with its enormous powers and privil-
State which had not suspended, cither j eges, which have been enlarged and ex-
neglected or openly refused to obey the | tended by legislative enactment, charter-
law, and make their returns as directed
by the positive mandate of the statute ;
thereby placing themselves in a position
of defiance to the constitutional authori
ties of the State.
In this state of things I issued my pro
clamation as required by law, publishing
the names of such delinquent banks, and
notifying the Treasurer of this State that
their bills would not be received in pay
ment of taxes, or of any debt due the
State or the Central Bank, until they
should comply with the laws and make
they returwwc^lirected by the statutes ;
and this they hive hitherto neglected to
do. It is evident, therefore, that the pen
alty of excluding their bills from the
Treasury, which is the only penalty now
prescribed by law for a failure to make
their returns, is not snffieieht to compel
obedience to the requirements of the stat
utes. Doubtless some of the banks have
made more 7 by taking nsay, and by dis-
regarding in other respects the act of 22d
December last, than they have lost by
ing new banks from year to year. The
people should take this subject into seri
ous consideration, and pronounce upon it
a calm and deliberate judgment. Every
intelligent person must admit that it is
impossible for a bank having a paper cir
culation' three times as large as thc
amount of its specie, to redeem all its bills
in specie on demand. Should all its bills do not exceed three dollars for every one
bonds to meet her liabilities on account of
the Central Bank, $240,000 of which are
still outstanding. And that in 1855, she
issued $48,500 of bonds to pay her in
debtedness on account of the Darien bank,
which are still unpaid, making $288,500
of bonds on account of these two banks,
which still remain a portion of the public
debt, the interest upon which is paid an
nually out of the taxes of the people—and
we may form some estimate of the amounts
which the people of Georgia have paid and
continue to pay in taxes, and suffer in
losses, to sustain the banking system.
Again, in many instances, those who
control the corporation may have great
advantages in being able, if they choose,
to obtain such accommodations as they
may desire, by the use of its funds, when
a favorable opportunity for speculation oc
curs. The dividends paid to stockholders
are therefore no proper criterion by which
to judge of the advantages of the corpora
tion to those who hold its offices, and con
trol and manage its capital and its opera
tions, or of the sums lost by the people on
account of the workings of the system.
Thus far I have discussed this question
upon the supposition that the liabilities
be presented for payment at any one
time, and the specie be demanded, it can
then redeem but one third of them. In
that case, if the bank has sufficient assets,
or property, the other two thirds may
possibly not be an ultimate loss, but pay
ment most be delayed till the money can
be realised by a disposition of those as
sets and property, which may not be till
the end of a lengthy and uncertain litiga
tion. It is dear, therefore, that our pres
ent paper currency is no* a currency con
vertible, at all times, into gold and silver
upon presentation; and that only one
third of It, should payment be demanded
an ah at one time, can, in the nature of
of specie actually an hand in the hanks to
meet and satisfy them. This supposition
is more fevorable to many of the banks
than facts will justify. The law of their
charters only requires that their liabilities
shall not exceed three dollars for every
one of specie on hand to meet those liabiL
ities. As an illustration of the error of
our present Legislature in incorporating
banks, suppose the amount of the capital
stock of the bank be limited hj toe dar
ter te $500,000, which is to \m paid in,
in gold and silver, by the- stockholders.—^
The charter then provides, tjbt to* kabOi-
ties of the hank shall at ootonr exceed'
three times the amount of the capital stock
of them for bills in circulation and indi
vidual deposits, exceed thirteen dollars for
eveiy one dollar of both specie and bills of
other banks which it then had on hand.
Another had only one dollar in specie in
its vaults for every fifteen dollars of its li
abilities for bills in circulation and depos
its. '• Another had one dollar in specie for
every seven of liability for bills in circula
tion and deposits; and another had < n'v
one dollar in specie for every eleven dol
lars of its liabilities of the character men
tioned above. It is true these banks had
other assets, but those assets were not
money. Thc question naturally suggests
itself; how can such currency be convert
ible into gold and silver—the money of the
constitution—on demand or presentation *
Mow can a bank with fifteen dollars of
cash liabilities for every one dollar in spe
cie, or even of five dollars for one, pay its
liabilities promptly on demand ? It is im
possible. And how can its bills be justly
considered safe as a circulating medium,
or as money, if it cannot redeem them
promptly on demand ?
In consideration of all the imperfections.
and abuses of our present banking system;.
I am of opinion that we should do all in
our power to bring about its complete re
formation, and if this be not possible, we
should abandon it entirely. I am the ad
vocate of no harsh measure that would
either violate the legal rights of the pres
ent corporations, (however unwisely they
were granted,) or that would bring distress,
upon the people, by a sudden return from
a paper to a specie currency. A reforma--
tion so radical, if attempted, must be the
work of years. If the Legislature would:
continually refuse to charter any new bank,
or to enlarge the capital stock of, or re
charter any bank now in existence, the
system would gradually work itself out by
efflux of time; and we might, without
any sudden shock, return safely to the
currency of the constitution, plant our
selves upon a firm specie basis, and rid
ourselves of a system against which the-
great and good men who conducted the*
revolution and formed our constitution in
tended to gnard their posterity, when they
declared in the constitution that nothing
but gold and silver coin should be made a.
legal tender.
In two of the States of this Union banks
are prohibited by constitutional provision;
two others have no hanks, and another
had but two small banks, whose charters,
it is said, have been forfeited by the late
suspension. And I am informed upon
what I consider reliable authority, that the
late commercial pressure was comparative
ly hut little felt within the limits of those
States.
Should our people determine, however,
to continue the present banking system,
and to charter new banks, increasing their
number and thereby increasing their pow
er in the States I would respectfully urge
the importance of guarding all charters
with much greater stringency in thc fu
ture. Let the charter of each provide that
the entire liabilities of the hank shall, at
no time, exceed three dollars for every one
of specie actually in its vaults and bona
fide the property of the hank, on pain of
immediate forfeiture. Let the simple feet
of suspension of specie payment render the
charter absolutely null and void. This
would deter them from engaging in such
wild speculations and over issues as com
pel them to suspend in case of pressure.
Let provision also be made that all execu
tions issued against thc corporation may
be levied upon the property of any stock
holder until the creditor he satisfied, leav
ing the stockholder to his legal remedies
against the rest of the stockholders to eft*,
force contributions among themselves.-r-
Let the bills of the banks in the hands of
the people at the time of suspension, bear
interest from the time until paid. And lftt
the Legislature retain the tight, by express
reservation in the ehartee, toakea, modify
or repeal it at pleasure, In my opinion it
would be best.for the Legislature to refuse
to grant a charter to any corporation for
any purpose whatever without retaining a
similar power," should its exercise he re
quired by the-interests of the State or the
public good: If the corporation is unwil
ling to trust toe people with this repeal
ing power, how much more should the
people be unwilling to trust the corpora
tion without it
MtOHwnoN or shall ziias.
Seroral of toe States have already pass
ed laws prohibiting thc emission by their